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Ortiz nearly flawless in Twins' loss

Ortiz nearly flawless in Twins' loss to Pirates

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By Dawn Klemish
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MLB.com |

PIRATES 5, TWINS 3at Bradenton, Fla.Friday, March 30

Twins at the plate: Matt Moses singled in a run in the first, and catcher Chris Heintz went deep for the first time this season an inning later to make the score 2-0. Minnesota added its final run in the eighth on a David Winfree double.

Pirates at the plate: The team was held scoreless on one hit in the first seven innings -- a single by Jose Castillo -- until exploding for five runs to take the lead in the eighth. With one out in the eighth, Brian Bixler bunted for a base hit that scored the winning run from third base.

Twins on the mound: Ramon Ortiz, Matt Guerrier and Juan Rincon combined to keep the Pirates to one hit through seven innings. Ortiz and Guerrier each had a strikeout, and Ortiz allowed the only hit, a single in the third. David Shinskie was tagged for five runs (four earned) in the eighth inning.

Pirates on the mound: Tom Gorzelanny surrendered two runs on four hits over six innings. The right-hander also struck out a spring-high eight batters. John Wasdin, who learned he'd made the 25-man just before the game, pitched a perfect seventh to lower his ERA to 0.79.

Grapefruit League records: Pirates 11-16-3; Twins 13-16-1.

Up next: Pittsburgh travels to Fort Myers on Saturday for its final Grapefruit League game. Left-hander Paul Maholm will start for the Pirates against Minnesota righty Sidney Ponson. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.

Dawn Klemish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.